Reversal of Established Nephropathy in New Zealand B/W F ₁Mice by 15-Deoxyspergualin

Abstract

The therapeutic effect of 15-deoxyspergualin (DSP) in old New Zealand Black/White F₁ mice (B/W mice) with clinical nephropathy was studied and compared with cyclophosphamide (CY). The mice were treated with 0.05 ml phosphate-buffered saline, subcutaneously, four times/week, with DSP, 6 mg/kg body weight, s.c, four times/week, or with CY, 15 mg/kg, i.p., once a week, starting at the 28th week of age. They were serially semiquantitated for proteinuria, and serum IgG anti-dsDNA antibody was measured by ELISA. Spleen cell surface markers such as L3T4, Lyt 2 and IgG were flow-cytometrically analyzed, and interleukin-2 (IL-2) activity in vitro was measured using CTLL cells. Kidney specimens were studied with light and immunofluorescence microscopy. The mice treated with either CY or DSP survived significantly longer than the control mice. L3T4⁺ cells in the DSP-treated mice at 40 weeks of age were significantly less than those in the 28-week-old control mice (p < 0.05). In contrast, IL-2 generation in the three groups of mice showed no significant variations at 32–40 weeks of age. Serum anti-DNA antibody levels in both of the CY and DSP groups remained low and comparable with that in the 28-week-old mice, and the incidence of significant proteinuria decreased. Likewise, glomerular histology in the treated groups was improved compared with the 28-week-old control mice, and the deposition of IgG and C3 in the treated groups remained unchanged or further decreased. Accordingly, the renal (immuno)histological findings in the DSP group were quite comparable with or even better than those in the CY-treated mice. DSP may have suppressed the abnormal antibody production by modulating the T cell function(s), which is in contrast to the direct action against B cells due to CY.